America and other developed countries damage the environment with huge emissions before they realised their drastic effect on the humanity and this planet. After realising the truth, they started to adopt policies towards the reduction of green house gas emissions. They want every country to adapt the same measures, but the cost of these measures is unaffordable for the developing and non-developed countries. As a consequence, developed countries have enjoyed the luxuries of development fully till now, and they still want to enjoy at the cost of other countries’ development.
To achieve this, they threaten non-cooperation and sometimes cajole developing nations by using their charm, like Hillary Clinton recently did in India. To be fair, these developed countries should stop their vulgar levels of consumption and emission. They should take responsibility for the total eradication of poverty from the face of the Earth. This is the best human way to revive the world economically and to save the Earth from global warming. Only this philosophy will make possible global health without hunger, anger and global warming. It presents us with easy and universally acceptable solutions.
America and other developed countries must practice emission control to the letter and spirit of every word. America wants to reduce its emissions to 4 tons per person by 2050. If they want to talk with any country about emissions and reductions, they have to take the active initiative in bringing all the countries to the table. The solution should be like this:
1. Emissions per person are to be limited to five tons/ person in all the countries.
2. A fund should be formed under the control of the UNO.
3. The cost factor should be determined for the amount of emissions exceeding the limit allowed: x dollars per ton per person.
4. This should, in turn, be paid into the account of carbon credits, thus increasing the value of carbon credits. It would help as an initiative for clean energy, afforestation (potentially a big employment generator) and conservation (less wastage through optimal utilisation).
The world understands that the developed countries were ignorant of the damage done to the planet earth by their emissions until recent years. However, if they continue along the same path, undeveloped and developing nations will be obliged to view them as the destroyers of the planet. Developing countries and undeveloped countries should not accept any deal where developed countries do not pay for their emissions from the date of the deal. As a world superpower, America’s duty is, not only to dictate the terms of such deals, but also to take on the lion’s share of global development in a world full of poverty.
The simplest way to do this would be to the free the transfer of technology to the developing and undeveloped countries in the fields of food, energy, education and health. But, it appears that the United States is more invested in protectionism: the superpower is deeply worried about the economical crisis and is not eager to change its pattern of life, which is responsible for 20 percent of total green house gas emissions. This is very unfortunate.
As a conscientious nation and a deal-maker, the United States should put forward a formula at Copenhagen in December. This formula should be obligatory for every nation, and it should define the exact compensation amounts by the developed countries in terms of cash or technology for the production clean energy (e.g. hydro-energy and solar power).
The United Nations has to undertake surveys to determine the sources of clean energy all over the world and create energy production-centres which will be shared by neighbouring nations, e.g. the potential for hydro-energy in Nepal and solar energy in India). Let us hope that the Indian Environment Minister will succeed in making a deal with the support of other developing countries to make Mother Earth a safe place for human habitation.
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